Verse of the Day 10/24

 

Verse of the  Day 10/24

 

John 4:13-14  Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.^[a] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  English Standard Version (ESV)

 

Our Pastor Bob spoke from this passage on Sunday and a main focus of the message was the concept of longing, deep longing.  The word is not specifically said in the verses but they show in the response of the woman to Jesus' question in the verse which immediately follows, she said "Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw this water".

 

Her longing was for the day was to be relieved of the mundane task of daily going  to the well to draw water.  She did not realize what Jesus was actually offering, it was more it was deeper as was her longing.  He was offering much more than relief for this task.  He was talking about life itself.

 

Pastor Greg Laurie writes, "Jesus was talking about the well as a metaphor for life. If you drink from the well of success, you will thirst again. If you drink from the well of accomplishments, you will thirst again. If you drink from the well of experiences, you will thirst again. Whatever it is, it will leave you empty."  Do you go to one of these wells to fill your longings?  Has it left you unfulfilled?

 

The conversation in John 4 is a reminder of the passage in Isaiah where God speaks through the prophet:

 

Isaiah 55:1-2English Standard Version (ESV)

The Compassion of the Lord

55 "Come, everyone who thirsts,
    come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without price.
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
    and delight yourselves in rich food.

 

I like the heading from the ESV, "The Compassion of  the Lord".  It is exactly what Jesus was offering to the woman, it is what He is offering to anyone who will come to Him today.

 

We'll close with an old hymn that comes to mind, it points to a heart that has come to Him for this living water and keeps it "singing".

 

There's within my heart a melody 
Jesus whispers sweet and low: 
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still, 
in all of life's ebb and flow. 
Refrain: 
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, 
sweetest name I know, 
fills my every longing, 
keeps me singing as I go. 

 

 

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

John 4:7-15New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Please give me a drink." ⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.^[a] She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?"

¹⁰ Jesus replied, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water."

¹¹ "But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket," she said, "and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? ¹² And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?"

¹³ Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. ¹⁴ But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life."

¹⁵ "Please, sir," the woman said, "give me this water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water."

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